Police Kill College Hostage Taker

aol news ^ | 9.18.03 | WOODY BAIRD

[freepatriot32]

DYERSBURG, Tenn. (Sept. 18) - A 26-year-old man with a history of mental problems held at least a dozen college students at gunpoint during a nine-hour standoff before a SWAT team stormed the school building and killed the suspect.

Authorities said the gunman, Harold Kilpatrick Jr., had left a note at his sister's house before the standoff Wednesday saying he ``wanted to kill some people and die today.''

Police rushed into the building at Dyersburg State Community College around 10 p.m. after hearing shots and killed Kilpatrick. Two hostages were wounded, but it was not immediately clear they were injured by police or Kilpatrick.

The wounded hostages were airlifted to the Regional Medical Center in Memphis, said police spokeswoman Lisa McDowell.

Kilpatrick's cousin, Carolyn Reed, who was at the college Wednesday, said he was being treated for mental problems, but was not taking his prescribed medication. Police said Kilpatrick was not a student or college employee.

Dyersburg Police Chief Bobby Williamson said there were 12 to 16 people in the basic math classroom when the standoff began. About three hours later, three students were released - all women, one of whom was pregnant. The teacher remained in the classroom.

The gunman, believed to have had a 9mm pistol and what looked like a butcher knife, made no demands - aside from food and drink - during the standoff. In the evening, he asked for six pepperoni pizzas and two six-packs of soft drinks, which police delivered.

The gunman claimed to be a member of al-Qaida, and Williamson said that although authorities had no reason to believe the claim, the FBI had been called in. Justice Department officials in Washington also said they had no evidence that the gunman was a member of the terrorist organization.

Authorities said Kilpatrick, of Memphis, was staying with his sister in Dyersburg. In the suicide note, left at his sister's house, he also said he didn't like Americans and had spoken with al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, Williamson said.

Officers communicated with the gunman through student hostages on their cell phones, but Kilpatrick wouldn't speak directly to police, Williamson said. They talked to his sister at the scene, but the gunman wouldn't talk to her, Williamson said.

Kilpatrick faced criminal charges of assault and kidnapping in another case, Dyersburg police spokesman Charles Maxey said. He had no details but said Kilpatrick had been scheduled to appear in a Memphis courtroom Wednesday.

09/18/03 06:32 EDT

[FITZ]

said he was being treated for mental problems, but was not taking his prescribed medication.

It's too bad more can't be done for the mentally ill.

[Fester Chugabrew]

"You can't make this stuff up...

Now, if "Patrick" were one of the hostages I'd really be wondering.

[Crowcreek]

"It's too bad more can't be done for the mentally ill"

Killing him was probably about as much as they could do. This man quit his medication, decided to break the rule about bringing handguns to class, and declared that he would commit murder and mayhem.

It's just a shame that none of his hostages had the means to carry out a 'self-rescue'.

[Varda]

And can you blame the family? If you have a mentally ill family member, you know how hard it is to deal with the system.

[bimbo]

I noticed that the press conveniently left out the fact the perp was a black male.

I always do my own personal profiling and ALWAYS assume the perp is Black ... if he were White, the Media would be very explicit with that information including showing his picture.

[FITZ]

I know people who have mentally ill family members --- they can't get any kind of help when they beg for it --- there is more that could be done --- but yes --- in this case with the hostages, the most that could be done was to shoot him.

[Varda]

This man was clearly not responsible for his own behavior. Killing him was the result of the failure to acknowledge that he was incapable of seeing his own best interests and that his condition was dangerous (which should have been obvious).

[A. Patriot]

Reading on how Souther Law Enforcement handily dealt with this matter, it reminded of a very funny joke:

Question:

You're walking down a deserted street with your wife and two small children.

Suddenly, a dangerous looking man with a huge knife comes around the corner,
locks eyes with you, screams obscenities, raises the knife, and charges.

You are carrying a Glock .40, and you are an expert shot. You have mere seconds before he reaches you and your family.

What do you do?

Liberal Answer:

Well, that's not enough information to answer the question!

Does the man look poor or oppressed? Have I ever done anything to him that
would inspire him to attack? Could we run away? What does my wife think?
What about the kids?

Could I possibly swing the gun like a club and knock the knife out of his hand?

What does the law say about this situation?

Does the Glock have an appropriate safety built into it?

Why am I carrying a loaded gun, and what kind of message does this send to society and to my children?

Is it possible he'd be happy with just killing me? Does he definitely want
to kill me, or would he be content just to wound me?

If I were to grab his knees and hold on, could my family get away while he was stabbing me?

This is all so confusing! I need to debate this with some friends for a few
days to try to come to a conclusion.


Conservative Answer:

BANG!


Southerner's Answer:

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! click... (sounds of reloading).

Wife: "Sweetheart, he looks like he's still moving, what do you kids think?"

Son: "Mom's right Dad, I saw it, too."

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! click.

Daughter: "Nice group, Daddy! Were those the Winchester Silver Tips?"

[A. Patriot]

Should be "Southern" Law Enforcement

[geedee]

It would be interesting to see if he was a recruited Black Muslim . . .

I'm shocked you would even think such a thing. You need to go through sensitivity training. LOL. We're no longer allowed to think or even wonder such things. Race and/or religion, per the liberal mantra, has nothing to do with why people do things . . . except all the downtrodden are supposed to vote Democratic because they "feel their pain."

Repeat after me, Grampa. No matter what happens . . . blame America. No matter what happens . . . blame America. No matter . . .

That's it, you're getting the hang of it. See? Old coots like us can still learn things.

[Let's Roll]

Yeah, that story left it out, but the CNN website had a picture of him - ironically credited to some warrant services company.

[max_rpf]

ROFLMBO! This is classic:

The gunman, believed to have had a 9mm pistol and what looked like a butcher knife, made no demands - aside from food and drink - during the standoff. In the evening, he asked for six pepperoni pizzas and two six-packs of soft drinks, which police delivered.

From Dictionary.com:

pep·per·o·ni    ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (pp-rn)
n. pl. pep·per·o·nis

1. A highly spiced pork and beef sausage.
2. A slice of this type of sausage.

---

[Italian peperoni, pl. of peperone, pimento, red pepper augmentative of pepe, pepper, from Latin piper. See pepper.]

PORK!!! This dudes going to hell, he probably was a Clinton 2 timer.

[twigs]

There's acutally a lot of people with mental problems who do not need to be institutionalized--IF THEY take their medicine. My sister-in-law was like that and so was a college roommate. Both were caring, kind people who held down responsible jobs. My SIL would get better, feel she didn't need the hated medication, then relapse. My roommate had problems when the doctors changed medications.

[DannyTN]

"This guy was just a suicide. He had no intention of killing anyone or he'd have done it. "

Probably, but I don't think you can rule out his intent to kill until you find out who wounded the two hostages.

[Varda]

I agree but I doubt they had a history of dangerous behavior. Some mentally ill people can be trusted to take their meds but if they don't they aren't a danger. The dangerous ones need to be monitored closely and if they go off their meds they should be taken off the streets.

[Ima Lurker]

Have you ever noticed how anyone who commits a crime of any type other than a white, christian male has mental problems and is therefore not responsible? Interesting.

[null and void]

Still NO PICTURES?? Why??

Dunno. See post 8???

[null and void]

I always do my own personal profiling and ALWAYS assume the perp is Black ... if he were White, the Media would be very explicit with that information including showing his picture.

Bad assumption. Could be møøselimb, Hispanic, Native American, Asian, anything but a white male. In such cases, white males are ALWAYS identified as such - and often given milita/Nazi/supremacist ties whether they have them or not...

[shhrubbery!]

Here he is. Someone earlier said this photo was posted on CNN's website:

Harold Kilpatrick

[NCC-1701]

"..."A 26-year-old man with a history of mental problems"..."

Someone with a history of mental illness is forbidden BY LAW from ownership of firearms of all types. What was he doing with a firearm(s) and how did he get it(them)? If he stole it(them), then that's another crime. A mute point now but with all the controls on the firearms industry and ownership of them, another nut got one and used it. Just like in D.C. with John Hinckley, NY and Mark David Chapman, etc., just shows that if someone is intent od doing thes things, they are going to get a firearm one way or another, all the gun control acts be damned. BTW, this incident happened about 60 miles from Memphis.